BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University women's basketball jumped out to a commanding 22-point halftime advantage and never looked back as the Mountaineers cruised to 77-58 win over Southern Conference foe College of Charleston in the semifinal round of the Women's Basketball Invitational. The victory moves ASU into the final round of the inaugural WBI and improves the Apps to 22-12 on the season, while CofC ends the 2009-10 campaign with a 21-12 record.

After trailing 9-8 early, the Black and Gold posted an unstoppable 18-3 streak to jump on top of College of Charleston 26-12.

Offensive production came from all over for the hot-shooting Apps, as freshman Ashlen Dewart nailed a trey to begin the run. Along with Dewart, five other Mountaineers contributed to the run, holding CofC to eight minutes without a field goal.

Dewart was impressive on the night, as she went 9-18 from the field, including 3-5 from behind the arc, pouring in a game-best 25 points, while hauling in six rebounds and going a spotless 4-4 from the charity stripe.

Ericka Willams drained a three-pointer to end CofC's scoring drought, but Appalachian finished the first period strong, outscoring the Cougars 9-2 in the final four and a half minutes to take a monstrous 40-18 lead into the break.

Charleston however tried to rally a comeback with a little over eight minutes remaining, going on a 7-0 run to make it 59-44, the closest the game had been since the 5:43 mark of the first.

Appalachian answered, picking up its pace, as Anna Freeman drilled a three-pointer to push ASU's lead back out to 20 points at 65-45.

Freeeman was stout offensively as well, going a perfect 5-5 from the field, scoring 17 points and dishing out three assists.

Final buckets down the stretch by Canesha Edwards thwarted any hopes of a College of Charleston comeback and Appalachian earned its third win of the season against its conference rival and its seventh-straight on its home floor.

Dominant once again on the glass the Mountaineers out-rebounded the Cougars 50-34, with Catherine Williams and Anna Freeman each grabbing a team-high nine boards apiece.

ASU has now defeated its opponents in WBI action by an average of 19 points, winning by no less than 15.

Playing in its first postseason championship game since 1999, the Mountaineers advance to the WBI finals to take on Memphis. Having the highest RPI and earning the number one overall seed in the tournament, Appalachian will host the contest, Sunday March 28 at 2 p.m. in the Holmes Center.

Notes: The 22 wins for ASU are the most since the 1995-96 season (24-6) ... the 22 wins are 13 more than the 2008-09 season (9-22) increasing ASU's best-ever single season turnaround in school history to +11.5 games ... Appalachian now has a school-record three postseason wins ... ASU has the most wins ever at the Holmes Center (10-6) ... the win is ASU's third-straight over CofC and evens the overall series at 16 wins apiece ... the Black and Gold are 4-1 in the month of March, matching its best-ever record in the month ... Appalachian advances to its first postseason championship game since 1999 (Southern Conference Tournament champions).